Improvement in stake-holders for platform-cars



v a A. mm.

Car-Truck Stake-Holder.

Patented July 18, 1865.

Inventor:

Witnesses:

UNITED STATES EDWIN A. EDDY, OF RAOINE, WISCONSIN.

PATENT OFFICE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 48,799, dated July 18, 1865.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN A. EDDY, of Racine,in the county of Racine and State of Wiscousin, have invented a new and useful Im provement in Oar-Stakes for Platform-Oars; andIdo hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanyin g drawings and the letters and figures marked thereon, forming part of this specification.

The nature of my said invention consists in a novel mode of attaching and securing the stake to the side of a platform-car, whereby, while said stake is immovably attached to the car, and therefore cannot be lost, it may by a novel arrangement be firmly and rigidly fixed in an upright position, and may also be adjusted or turned down in a horizontal position, when desired, so as to be out of the way when loading or unloading the cars.

I have recentlymade anotherapplication for an improvement in this class, wherein the general construction and arrangementisthesame as in this; but in my formerinvention the stake was held in a vertical position by means of a slot or recess in the stake-holder and a corresponding tooth or projection upon the stake. This last-mentioned arrangementinvolved the necessity ofliftin g the stake up vertically before it could be turned down, which oftentimes is a difficult operation,it' not holly impracticable, owing to the lateral pressure of the load upon the stake.

Mypresent invention is designed to obviate this difficulty by fastening the stake in a vertical position in such a manner that it may be turned down without first being lifted up,and that it will be fastened in said vertical position automatically by simply raising it upright.

To enable those skilled in the art to understand how to construct and use my invention, 1 will proceed to describe the same with particularity, making reference in so doing to the aforesaid drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a front elevation of my invention with the stake upright; Fig. 2, a side view of the same. F ig.3 is a front view, partly in section, showing the staketurned down 5 and Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a car having my invention attached.

Similar letters of reference in the several figures denote the same parts of my invention.

The stake B, socket or stake-holderG, clamp E, and center bolt, D,are all constructed and arranged substantially as describedin my said application heretofore made, with the exception that the recess upon the stake-holder and projection upon the stake are now dispensed with, and that the bolt D now passes through a hole in the stake instead of the longitudinalslot, as before. 1

So far as the'above-mentioned parts are concerned the stake B has a perfectly free and unimpeded'movement from the vertical position shown in Fig. 1 to the horizontal position shown in Fig. 3, there being nothing to hold the stake in a vertical position.

To hold the stake in a vertical position I employthe button or latch (markedA) arranged at the heel of the stake and pivoted or suspended upon the bolt a, so as to have a free motion upon and about the same. The lower partof said latchAis madeot' sufficient weighted always to hold the same in the desired position, as seen in the drawings,unless some force be applied to change the position. When it is desired to turn down the stake the weighted or heavy arm ofAis drawn back towarda horizontal position, therebythrowing the face resting against the stake down below the stake, thus permitting said stake to be turned down, as shown in Fig. 3,A resuming its original position. When it is des red to raise the stake up vertically, by raising it up the lower end.

presses down the horizontal arm of A and permits the stake to be arranged vertically, as desired, when the heavy arm falls down and automatically arranges itself with respect to the stake, as shown in Fig. 1, and holds the stake firmly in place.

It is not essential that the vertical arm of the latch A should be weighted, as aforesaid; but any latch or bolt may be used and moved into the desired position by hand.

Having described my invention, I will now specify what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

In combination with the stakeB and holder 0, the employment of the latch A, arranged and operating substantially as herein shown and described.

EDWIN A. EDDY.

\Vitnesses:

D. MCDONALD, G. A. THOMSON. 

